Badgers London Tales

Office Door

2009-10-07T00:50:00.001-07:00

Someone clearly wanted to get in

Return of the Wideboy?

2009-09-09T06:11:00.001-07:00

Not seen one for ages

The Wye Valley

2009-08-26T03:51:00.001-07:00

Ross on Wye

Hawkwind - 40 years anniversery

2009-08-26T02:06:00.001-07:00

Beautiful Days Festival

2009-08-26T02:05:00.001-07:00

Exeter

Ha ha ha....... Piss off Griffin you racist prick

2009-06-09T11:57:00.000-07:00

Link from The Times

Link from the BBC

Jack Straw on the Northern Line

2009-04-23T13:23:00.001-07:00

www.thelaststrawman.com

The wildlife of the park

2009-04-22T10:16:00.001-07:00

Kennington Park that is

Another lunch in the park

2009-04-20T05:48:00.001-07:00

Wandsworth Park SW18

Urban75 Walk

2009-04-18T12:46:00.001-07:00

Hampstead Heath

Urban75 Egg Race

2009-04-18T12:44:00.001-07:00

On the Heath

Archie the tortoise

2009-04-08T13:00:00.001-07:00

Doing what he does best

Beard progression

2009-04-02T12:05:00.001-07:00

April 2009

When worlds collide

2009-04-02T12:04:00.001-07:00

Protest week London

Life in opposition

2009-04-02T12:03:00.001-07:00

By the Bank of England in protest week

A slightly camp lane

2009-04-02T12:01:00.001-07:00

G20 week

Outside the Market Porter

2009-04-02T09:29:00.001-07:00

Opposite Borough Market SE1

The George in London Bridge

2009-04-02T06:43:00.001-07:00

Not a bad pub considering it is over 300 years old.

The Mayflower SE16

2009-03-29T07:22:00.001-07:00

On the jetty

Easter Egg hunt in SW18

2009-03-26T05:33:00.001-07:00

Marmite truck

2009-03-24T11:01:00.001-07:00

If it crashed then toast would be needed

Lunch in Wandsworth Park

2009-03-18T06:18:00.001-07:00

Reading George MacDonald Fraser by the Daffs in the sun. Better than the office.

Shaking Stevens would love this.

2009-03-12T03:44:00.001-07:00

Side door of the Cats Back in SW18

London Recycling

2009-03-12T01:04:00.001-07:00

Hats off to the residents of SW18

My Thoughts On Jeffrey Sachs

2009-03-11T13:24:00.000-07:00

Today's great man is Jeffrey Sachs who is a Director of the Earth Institute and no fool. He is an economist and has spoken at the Reith Lectures which are fascinating. I agree and disagree with his directions in equal measures as he proffers solutions to the problems of humanity based purely around the continuation of capitalism. I personally favour a more radical, humanitarian approach but given my personal contribution to our planet I am in no position to judge I feel? I first really noticed Jeffrey Sachs during the airing of a Reith Lecture called Bursting at the Seams broadcast on Radio 4 in 2007 which left me reeling for about three days. I have always thought that the biggest issue facing humanity right now is overpopulation but have never looked at it from a global perspective as the needs of the individual are foremost in my mind. However much we try to protect the rights and needs of an individual it could potentially transpire to be a wasted effort as the finite resources of planet earth are eroded by the ever consuming human race. We have some stark and unpleasant choices to make over the coming years, decades and generations and while you may not agree with Jeffrey Sachs his opinion is as valid as everyone else. The trick is not to choose the cleverest human being on earth but pool the mental resource mankind has at its disposal and focus them on the areas of strength.

Vauxhall Station on Monday

2009-03-09T00:48:00.001-07:00

Get the feeling I am being watched but cant put my finger on it....

Brixton Daffs

2009-03-08T11:25:00.001-07:00

Spring should be here not rain.

Summer of Rave - 1898

2009-03-08T04:16:00.000-07:00

The Summer Of Raves 1989 (59:07) is a pretty good watch.

Looking at how different people are acting or dressing and what was happening musically. Interesting times we were living in then, not least of all the fall of the Berlin Wall in November.

The Great British Roadside Cafe

2009-03-08T01:24:00.000-08:00

This picture was posted up on the Urban75 forums by another web-type-person and I really like it.

Somehow the picture explains why places like Starbucks and other coffee chains are so successful in the United Kingdom. Equally there is something quaint about the crapness of the vendors premises but something good as well.

A copycat blogger of all things!!

2009-03-07T00:43:00.000-08:00

Another blogger from the London strain of the family Mustelidae and damn it if he has not already got the best Badger blog ever?!?!

World of Badger
The damned fellow has already got his blog 'highly commended' in the Guardian Best British Blog competition. Although this was back in 2002 so perhaps his crown is slipping now and I can grab market share?

A few days since I wrote anything

2009-03-06T22:03:00.000-08:00

After a fairly poorly week I made it back to work on the 05/03/09 which was good althought still not 100% as I type. Need a nice relaxing weekend which is on the cards I hope so plan to be back to health by Monday. This is a good thing as work is getting busier and hours are about to get longer through the summer.

Downloaded the Lambeth Housing Register forms yesterday which were 16 pages long and plan to get these filled in and posted. I doubt we will be considered a high priority by the council but with the uncertain times we live in it makes sense to register I feel. Have been talking to several people with experience of allocating council housing and many have said that when properties become available sometimes nobody (odd this) turns up to view. So I suppose you never know do you?

Reading up about quitting smoking which is long overdue and no doubt killing me both health and financially. Responded to a quit smoking advert on the radio and just received a load of stuff and a (scary?) DVD to watch as well. Tried a dozen times before to quit and failed miserably at every turn so need to get it sorted this time. Lambeth have a pretty good stop smoking support service which helps. I am hoping that I can convince my GP or a clinic to stick me on Champix as Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) has never worked for me and willpower is weak. I think the main motivation for giving up is money rather than health but the two are both pretty important I guess.

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Bob is cool

2009-03-06T15:03:00.001-08:00

Must go to the dentist

2009-03-06T12:54:00.001-08:00

Soon...

Nice wheels

2009-03-06T06:30:00.001-08:00

SW18

Lunch

2009-03-06T06:29:00.001-08:00

Worked for me

Unsure about this beard

2009-03-05T06:39:00.001-08:00

Got a discount though as they cut my neck mid-shave.

12,420 days on Planet Earth and counting

2009-03-04T03:09:00.000-08:00

Surprised I made it this far but 34th birthday arrives today. Never been a fan of birthdays through my adult years but mellowed a bit since getting married.

Have a quiet night in hopefully with a small meal from the Clapham Tandoori (courtesy of my kind sister) which we have not tasted before but is highly recommended. Will have a think about what film to stick on as my new DVD has not arrived sadly.

Working from home today which I rarely do but is proving very productive compared to the office distractions and general bantering. Have managed to sneak in a fair amount of chores too which gives us a more chilled evening.

Tomorrow I was supposed to be going to the Ecobuild Show at Earls Court which is about sustainable construction. Sadly it seems that I am needed elsewhere so will not be attending this year.

Off to see some friends after work tomorrow night in SE17 which should be nice and it seems that a clear weekend is on the cards too.

First Tuesday of March and feeling poorly

2009-03-03T07:39:00.000-08:00

Find being ill irritating, does anyone like it?

Not much to write about today due to feeling sorry for myself as only a man can. Feels like the worst has passed but annoying with my birthday arriving tomorrow morning. Spent the day sleeping, listening to the radio and watching some programmes on the BBC iPlayer.

More changes await me at work when I get back (tomorrow hopefully) including a change of office location which means more upheaval in the near future. Never mind, it is the way of things right now and maybe we will find a nicer office. The location is almost certainly going to be Richmond which is not a bad part of the UK but means a longer and more expensive commute.

First Monday of March and feeling poorly

2009-03-02T03:50:00.000-08:00

Yuck, yuck, yuck!!

Am battling with an upset stomach which arrived on Sunday and has kept me home from work. The worse seems to be over and managed to catch on some missed sleep from last night. Never been very good at being ill (is this unusual?) and although it may mean a four day working week this Monday is pretty much a write off now. Dressing gown for most of Sunday and seems that Monday will be the same apart from a quick trip to the shops to get supplies in.

Another colleague is out as his wife was taken to hospital Sunday and he was waiting for her to be discharged so only a skeleton staff (3 out of 5) are in the office holding the fort today. No doubt they will cope without us though.

Have a pretty easy week ahead apart from some birthday drinks on Thursday the 05.03.09 in a good London pub. My birthday (34 years young this year) is on the 04.03.09 but a good friend (who shares a lot of my London friends) is on the 05.03.09 so a joint celebration can be had. I have always found birthdays a bit of a non-event and would rather that they just passed without fuss but good to see some friends I guess. Have given family and friends strict orders not to buy anything as I find myself running out of room in our badly laid out one-bedroom flat. I know present giving is thoughtful and selfless but it is best saved for youngsters and special birthdays (30th, 40th, etc....) in my opinion.

Still enjoying writing this blog, although having been asleep for much of the day I find myself a little short of things to say. Perhaps inspiration will come later in the day or perhaps this is all the musing for a Monday?

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The PC workstation - 28.02.09

2009-02-28T17:54:00.001-08:00

Kindly donated to me and our flat by Ringo. A beast of a desk and a pleasure to type at. Room for ample rubbish as well as IT crap.

Saturday draws to a close and Sunday arrives

2009-02-28T16:08:00.001-08:00

A pleasing day all in all despite the lazy start.

We were lazing in the pub drinking Stella and Guinness respectively when the mobile phone rang and suddenly a forgotten appointment came to light. What we had forgotten was that today was my wife's cousins 30th birthday and we were expected in SE1 at around 19:00 when we thought we had a totally free weekend. This was an acceptable setback for the weekend but we were in full lazy mode by this time and it took a herculean effort to get ourselves over to Bermondsey in order to meet the chauffeur (in-laws) and make the party. We made it in time only to find out that the chauffeur (in-laws) had been delayed due to traffic (from DA7 to SE1) so we ended up in the Gregorian pub on Jamaica Lane.

This pub was chosen not as result of recommendation or referral but purely out of necessity and I would recommend it to no human being (apart from Rupert Murdoch) who values their life or reputation. I found to be less threatening than the public houses of Aldershot in the decade of 1990-2000 but I still managed to have waved fists in my face before getting through one pint.

Made it out of the place in one piece and and headed to Links Community Hall a short way from Bermondsey tube station only to find that the 30th birthday cousin was also pregnant and had got married this very morning! I thought that my wife and I had got the cartel on secret marriages (more to follow on this) but now another couple have stolen our dream and made it there own. They tried to usurp us by adding pregnancy to the whole affair but we still maintain that we are the king and queen of 'edgy and cool' weddings to keep face.

The party felt like a parody of a disco but it was pleasing to find a free bar and I spent some time chatting to my grandmother-in-law who turns 90 this year. She is a fierce Catholic and like many older Bermondsey residents a bit of a living history book and I enjoy her company immensely. I suppose this modern and unbalanced world seems a bit scary to the best of us but being 90 years old it must seem less real than The Matrix seemed to our generation?

Made it through the evening unscathed and am now safely resting back at the PC workstation with a can of ale in hand and a livener on the side. Not a bad Saturday by all accounts and the fridge is now stocked with Goats cheese and sausages, while the top of the fridge hosts duck eggs and leeks.

As I type this post I see that Sunday is now upon us and I wish the Welsh readers of this page a happy St David's Day (Dydd Gŵyl Dewi) and hope that the lack of grand slam does not distract from the occasion.

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Links Community Hall - SE1

2009-02-28T14:09:00.001-08:00

Seems I have got the time machine working and now back in the 80s listening to crap music while eating sausage rolls

Hanover Arms - 28.02.09

2009-02-28T08:22:00.001-08:00

Now the urinals of SE11 shimmer in the flash. Not a great moment in Londons photographic history but you get the idea

Hanover Arms - 28.02.09

2009-02-28T07:39:00.001-08:00

The mark of the weekend is branded on the weekend blog. Watching the Six Nations (Sco vs Ita) and basking in the ambience

28.02.09 - Hanover Arms

2009-02-28T06:22:00.001-08:00

Quick 'after market' pint or two and a browse through the pages of the Guardian. A good pub to people watch from. Jack Straw lives just up here but he is not in the pub today.

28.02.09 - Cheese stand

2009-02-28T06:15:00.001-08:00

Oval Farmers Market. Selling a wicked blue cheddar today.

Saturday laziness update

2009-02-28T03:54:00.000-08:00

Well, true to form this Saturday is slipping away from us as the sofa and the Internet consume us along with the dulcet tones of the BBC wafting from the digital wireless which is one of my favourite and most used gadgets right now.

The sun is over the yardarm now and I have imbibed a can of beer and the second one is winking at me from the shelf of my PC workstation right now. I know that lunchtime drinking may be frowned upon in come circles but there is only so much coffee and orange squash that my palate can take. This is being soaked up by butter crumpets as I type so hopefully my liver will cope okay.

Perhaps I just love to hate this city at times or maybe I just hate the dumbed down state of Britain as a whole right now. The fact that our government (yes, the people we think are capable of running a country) have asked Alan Sugar to run for London Mayor as an attempt to stop Ken Livingstone standing again. There are not enough swear words and sighs of exasperation to express my feeling regarding this stupid, moronic idea. Perhaps New Labour should just go the whole hog by making Fred Goodwin (I omitted the Sir title on purpose) the Chancellor of the Exchequer and make Jeremy Kyle the Speaker of the House of Commons? If we are to be seen as a farcical nation then perhaps we should do it properly?

The sad thing is that I was a fan of Livingstone but now have ended up with Boris Johnson and this makes even Alan Sugar seem a better option. Much like choosing between Labour and Conservative we have little option but to vote for who we hope to be the 'least worst' option on offer. I guess we can only hope that they mess things up so badly that they are sent into exile and are revered not unlike Caligula in history but I fear this is not the case.

Well, I need to wake myself up and shake off this dressing gown which feels like a valiumstraight jacket right now. The Market is here for one day a week and it is a fool who passes on his sausages in order to sit idle in a messy flat.

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Saturday 28th of February 2009

2009-02-28T00:28:00.000-08:00

Day two of blogging which may be a good sign that this might go on for a little while. Have even gone so far as to add the blogpost url to my bookmarks.

A few beers with five former colleagues in an easily forgotten SE1 pub/wine bar. Interesting to see what they are all up as it has been two years since I worked with any of them.

One is still doing the same job (online advertising sales) in the same industry but for another company. One one working for a property developer but (like many) was laid off recently and is job hunting. One is working in email marketing but is soon emigrating to Australia. One is emigrating to America to get married. One is working as an office manager.

Last Saturday of February and up fairly early despite not needing to be. No bad thing as I should probably make more of the weekend time as I spend so many hours moaning about the week!

Will no doubt laze about for the morning and then head to Oval Farmers Market which is in the grounds of St Mark's Church, Kennington and a regular weekend fixture for us now. All the stalls are good although the one that we always visit without fail is The Giggly Pig Company which is run by Tracy Mackness who's story is quite incredible.

No other plans really for today and tomorrow but I have to cease procrastinating regards the clutter currently filling our small flat. Although for now I am avoid this task by smoking, drinking coffee and listening to Blake's 7 on Radio BBC7 which is making think I am reaching levels of geek that I never have before. Although I seem to spend to thirds of my life online I am STILL managing to avoid facebook so there is still hope for this Badger.

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Wandsworth park

2009-02-27T08:34:00.001-08:00

27.02.09

2009-02-27T06:23:00.000-08:00

Well, I must say that this blogging thing seems a lot more palatable than twitter as a medium of placing my pointless musing on the worldwideweb for any strange person to read and judge. Quite liking the photo function with the Sony Ericsson C902 and have now uploaded some of my more recent picture including the mighty SW18 Vole seen next to Wandsworth Park recently.

Today has been like many other days experienced during this time of British (Global) uncertainty and the end of winter. Have experienced high levels of boredom (dragging) in the office and a date for work rate to increase remains unclear. The good news is that today is Friday and the weekend tastes good right now. Either that or it may have been the two pints consumed in the clement surroundings of the Cat's Back at lunchtime, who can say?

The one thing I will say is that today feels like the first glimpse of warmer weather and ultimately impending summer that we have seen in 2009. This summer being one of poverty for my wife and I is destined to be as good as any experienced with money in the bank. Every effort will be made to enjoy the city of London parks and museums as possible while drinking the occasional beer or five.

Knee high white socks for the commute from Vauxhall Station

2009-02-27T05:52:00.001-08:00

27.02.09

Fulham vs Swansea

2009-02-27T05:49:00.001-08:00

25.02.09

Urban Vole in SW18

2009-02-27T05:43:00.003-08:00

24.02.09

Sussex pub toilet grafitti

2009-02-27T05:43:00.001-08:00

21/02/09

More wife and beard on Brighton beach

2009-02-27T05:40:00.001-08:00

21/02/09

Wife, beard and sun in Brighton

2009-02-27T05:39:00.001-08:00

21/02/09

Snowpeople of Brixton

2009-02-27T05:35:00.001-08:00

02/02/09

Funeral in Brixton

2009-02-27T05:34:00.001-08:00

16/01/09

Christmas in Pecky House

2009-02-27T05:31:00.001-08:00

Our impressive display

Stupid advert for stupid people

2009-02-27T05:30:00.001-08:00

The pub toilets of London

My newest badge

2009-02-27T04:48:00.001-08:00

Brighton Lanes - 21/02/09

Brighton

2009-02-27T03:39:00.001-08:00

21/02/09

27th of Feburary 2009

2009-02-27T02:46:00.000-08:00

Well, well.....
I have started a blog after musing about this for some time.

No doubt like many of the things I do this will have a limited appeal. Especially when I really only set the thing up to whack some photos on, but you never know...

Perhaps this will be something that I embrace fully and blogs will lead to books, book deals, film scripts, awards and so much more. However I am a well known starter of projects but virtually unknown as the finisher of them.

We wait and see friends.......

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